Former Dutch star Peter Blangé appointed Tournament Director of 2015 European Championship

From left to right: Michel Everaert, Secretary General of the Dutch Volleyball Federation (NeVoBo), Peter Blangé, and Imre van Leeuwen of Shivers, the company that will be working with NeVoBo in the organisation of the European Championship

Rotterdam, Netherlands, April 17, 2014 - Peter Blangé, the legendary setter of the Dutch national team that won gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, was recently appointed Tournament Director of the 2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women that the Netherlands will co-host next year together with Belgium.

His appointment was announced at the end of an inspection visit where CEV delegates visited each of the cities that will be hosting matches of the Championship.

The inspection visited lasted for three days and was carried out by a CEV delegation chaired by Board member Maris Pekalis of Latvia, including also ESOC member Luis Fernando Muchaga (Spain) and Silvia Sordelli of CEV partner Infront Sports & Media. They inspected the venues and all facilities that will be used for next year’s Championship in the cities of Antwerp, Eindhoven, Apeldoorn, and Rotterdam.

The CEV delegates were very impressed by the enthusiasm shown by each of the host cities as well as by the current state of their preparations for the 2015 European Championship.
Shortly before the dinner that rounded out the inspection visit, the organisers announced Blangé’s appointment as Tournament Director.

The former star setter – who recorded 500 caps with the Dutch national team, a record that still stands – will head the Organising Committee of the competition which is due to take place from September 26 to October 4, 2015.

“I feel very honoured with this appointment,” Blangé said. “The plans prepared by the Dutch and Belgian Volleyball Federations as well as by Shivers, the company we will be working with, feature all the ingredients to make a memorable tournament out of this Championship. I am confident that everything will be fine and the outcome will be good. We are very committed to deliver a great Volleyball festival,” he continued.

Blangé is a four-time Olympian who first debuted at Seoul 1988 before his next appearances followed in 1992 (Barcelona), 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney). His gold-medal winning performance at the Centennial Games in Atlanta was chosen as “Sports Moment of the Century” by the Dutch audience. After retiring from competitive sport, Blangé – who spent most of his career in Italy – has been active as a coach, heading both club teams as well as the Dutch national team.